Road-kill Stew
The most popular natural selection in the modern world is humans who kill members of other species. The consequences are serious for humanity. Charles and Mary Brown research the population of cliff swallows. Cliff swallows build hardened-mud nests on cliff faces. The dangerous thing about this is that human have built roads in between cliffs and mountainsides, so if a bird ever lands on the road a car will kill it. This causes the birds to evolve, but the pressure making them evolve is risking them to become road kill. The number of nests has risen. A theory is that the birds have evolved to believe that vehicles are dangerous. It is believed that vehicles are killing birds with longer wings because short wings allow more vertical take-off, which enables a bird to get out of the way from a vehicle faster. If natural selection is actually taking place here, then the swallows wingspans will shrink over time, which is already happening due to birds found over time with slightly smaller wingspans. The rising swallow population is not due to a decrease in traffic, but it is due to the fact that the birds have adapted to their environments consisting of vehicles. There is one thing going against this theory and that is the fact that there are not many birds killed by vehicles each year compared to the large population of swallows. This leads to the belief that there would have to be a lot more birds killed by vehicles for the birds to be adapting. Putting this rejecting hypothesis aside, Charles and Mary Brown have collected enough data to demonstrate the evolutionary changes in the vertebrates of these swallows.
This interests me because whenever i think of evolution, I think of millions and billions of years ago to when monkeys evolved to humans, or when amphibians evolved to reptiles. I never stopped to think that there was still evolution taking place today. Even if it is small and may seem unimportant, it is significant because all huge evolutionary changes start somewhere. Even if the length of the wings of swallows may seem like a small change, all big changes start somewhere and this could lead to a huge adaptation in the species of birds.
Link related to this article:
http://www.nature.com/news/swallows-may-be-evolving-to-dodge-traffic-1.12614
Some words i looked up were:
Caveat- A warning or caution
Cannier- careful or cautious
Aerodynamics- a branch of mechanics that deals with the motion of air and other gases with the effects of such motion on bodies with the medium
(http://dictionary.reference.com)
Into the Wildwood
The amount of chestnut trees in North America was scarce (about 4 million) due to the infection, Cryphonectria parasitica, which is the fungus that causes chestnut blight. Genetic engineering will cause a rise in the population of chestnuts. The department of agriculture is planting three experimental patches. The project has been organized by the FHI (Forest Health Initiative). The FHI will ask the government for permission to plant transgenetic chestnuts in the wild. If that goes well it could provide a model for projects to re-establish other species of trees. 1990 was when the genetic protection for chestnuts began. Dr. Powell knew that many of the symptoms of chasten blight were are caused by the oxalic acid that the Cryphonectria parasitica generates as it grows. He also knew that wheat has an enzyme called oxalate oxidase, which detoxifies oxalic acid, so he and his team transferred the gene that encodes oxalate oxidase form wheat to chestnut. Last summer is was proven that oxalate oxidase can enhance blight-resistance. The FHI asked Mr. Powell and others to look at the American Chestnut Foundation, which is a group that cross breeds Chinese and American chestnuts. Cryphonectria parasitica is Asian, these cross bred trees (Asiatic) have evolved resistance to it. The 800 trees that will be planted this month will have various combinations of these genes and the results should come quickly. These trees would only need to be a few years old to get results, but Dr. Powell's team made a test of the sapling's leaves and they believe that they can tell whether a tree is resistant when it is less than a year old. The trial itself will last up to three years. The researchers will monitor how the modified chestnuts fit into the local ecosystem and they will determine how healthy the trees are. A decision will have to be made if these GM trees can be released into the wild.
This is important because if these trees can be successfully modified, it could lead to the genetic modification to many other trees, which would raise the population of trees. This experiment serves as the model to many other tree studies. This interested me because I was not aware that there was a decline in the population of trees, and i never realized how much work went into planting GM trees. Its a long hard process, and the studies of these solutions took many years to come to.
Sites related to this article:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577033-gm-species-may-soon-be-liberated-deliberately-wildwood
http://www.nature.com/news/plant-science-the-chestnut-resurrection-1.11504
Some words i looked up:
culprit- A person arraigned for an offense.
hemlock- A poisonous plant of the parsley family that has purple spotted stems.
blight- A plant disease.
Testing every adult in India for HIV would save both lives and money. It is important for authorities to understand the cost-effectiveness of a health program. There was paper published by Kartik Venkatesh and Jessica Becker and they asked themselves if it would be a good idea for the government of India to try to test the country's population for HIV at regular intervals. Though HIV in India has not yet turned into a widespread epidemic, experts think it will in a few years to many people who do not realize they are infected. If these people were identified, they could be treated to stop the symptoms from developing. That would also inform the people who unknowingly have it to prevent them from spreading it to others. Calculations made by Dr. Venkatesh and Dr. Becker calculate the costs of not testing people and of not giving drugs to those who test positive. It also calculated the lives extended and saved and further infections and other treatments avoided if these people were tested and treated. According to Dr. Venkatesh and Dr. Becker, testing Indian adults every five years would save $1,900 per year of each life and would thus pay off handsomely. Whether is can actually be done is another story.
This is important because without these studies, diseases around the world would get out of hand. HIV is a serious disease that is worldwide spread. India has beed lucky so far and these studies could convince their government to take action to save lives and save money. This interests me cause I live in a world where I do not know anyone with HIV or other serious diseases. I am very lucky and fortunate, but it is important to think about people who are not as lucky and fortunate as I am.
Words I looked up:
Purse- Money possessed or available to a certain country.
Feasible- Possible to do conveniently or easily.
Related Websites:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21579440-testing-every-adult-india-hiv-would-save-both-lives-and-money-cost
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/health/hiv-tests-urged-for-800-million-in-india.html?_r=0
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/07/10/hiv-aids-india
Related Websites:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/28/hospitals-technology-hand-hygiene/2471443/
http://hospitalhygiene.info
Words I looked up:
wards- A separate room in a hospital usually for particular type of patient.
This is important because if these trees can be successfully modified, it could lead to the genetic modification to many other trees, which would raise the population of trees. This experiment serves as the model to many other tree studies. This interested me because I was not aware that there was a decline in the population of trees, and i never realized how much work went into planting GM trees. Its a long hard process, and the studies of these solutions took many years to come to.
Sites related to this article:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577033-gm-species-may-soon-be-liberated-deliberately-wildwood
http://www.nature.com/news/plant-science-the-chestnut-resurrection-1.11504
Some words i looked up:
culprit- A person arraigned for an offense.
hemlock- A poisonous plant of the parsley family that has purple spotted stems.
blight- A plant disease.
The Cost of Living
Testing every adult in India for HIV would save both lives and money. It is important for authorities to understand the cost-effectiveness of a health program. There was paper published by Kartik Venkatesh and Jessica Becker and they asked themselves if it would be a good idea for the government of India to try to test the country's population for HIV at regular intervals. Though HIV in India has not yet turned into a widespread epidemic, experts think it will in a few years to many people who do not realize they are infected. If these people were identified, they could be treated to stop the symptoms from developing. That would also inform the people who unknowingly have it to prevent them from spreading it to others. Calculations made by Dr. Venkatesh and Dr. Becker calculate the costs of not testing people and of not giving drugs to those who test positive. It also calculated the lives extended and saved and further infections and other treatments avoided if these people were tested and treated. According to Dr. Venkatesh and Dr. Becker, testing Indian adults every five years would save $1,900 per year of each life and would thus pay off handsomely. Whether is can actually be done is another story.
This is important because without these studies, diseases around the world would get out of hand. HIV is a serious disease that is worldwide spread. India has beed lucky so far and these studies could convince their government to take action to save lives and save money. This interests me cause I live in a world where I do not know anyone with HIV or other serious diseases. I am very lucky and fortunate, but it is important to think about people who are not as lucky and fortunate as I am.
Words I looked up:
Purse- Money possessed or available to a certain country.
Feasible- Possible to do conveniently or easily.
Related Websites:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21579440-testing-every-adult-india-hiv-would-save-both-lives-and-money-cost
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/health/hiv-tests-urged-for-800-million-in-india.html?_r=0
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/07/10/hiv-aids-india
A New Human Relative
Two million years ago Australopithecus sediba lived. Part of
its skeleton was found in 2008 in South Africa by a team lead by Lee Berger.
The three most complete bones were used to make a reconstruction. Parts of A.
sediba display a mixture of features that reflect its simian past and
anticipate its human future. It has a human-like pelvis and a chimpanzee-like
foot. Its foot was still quite arboreal. A. sediba is the most recent
australopithecine known. It is unclear where it fits in the human family tree.
It is contemporarily with the earliest member of the genus Homo, H. habilis, so
it cannot be a direct ancestor, but it is probably a close relative.
This interested me because I
learned a lot of things I did not know. I always assume we have discovered almost
everything by now and that we have found most fossils, but it is interesting to
think that there is so much about the early ages of this world that we do not
know and have not yet discovered. This is important because we are still finding
new fossils leading to new discoveries.
Related Websites:
Words I looked up:
Simian- Relating to apes or monkeys.
Contemporarily- Living or occurring at the same time.
Altered states
Exercise is the closest thing to
medicine. Working out takes more effort than swallowing a pill, but the
benefits are worth it. Even small amounts of exercise protect against diseases
like diabetes, osteoporosis, heart attacks, senility and others. Exercise
improves the power and efficiency of the heart. It boosts the release of
certain neurotransmitters and it stimulates cells’ garbage-disposal machinery. A
group of researchers led by Charlotte Ling have discovered that exercise alters
the way genes work in the tissue that stores fat. Dr Ling recorded the effects
of six months of moderate exercise on 23 male “couch-potatoes” who were in there
30s and 40s. The men were supposed to attend three workouts a week, but they
only managed an average of 1.8. Besides the usual advantages of working out, it
reduced their heart rate, lowered their blood pressure, and it dropped their
cholesterol levels. The researchers also observed changes in the men’s adipose
tissue (the place where fat is stored). Basically, the genes in these fat cells
had altered. Dr Ling knew that exercise stimulates epigenetic changes in muscle
cells. These alter how muscle processes sugar. When she and her colleagues
looked for similar alterations in their adipose tissue, they found a lot. This
matters, because adipose stores energy and it is also an organ that produces a
range of biologically active chemicals that effect on the rest of the body. With
many studies it was concluded that
one important reason exercise is good for you is because it improves the
ability of fatty tissue to do its job. Exercise causes lipids get stored in the
right place instead of settling elsewhere in the body, where they do harm. As
she observes, if you have surplus fat it is better to have it stored in fatty
tissue than in the liver or the pancreas.
This is important because this study is only the
beginning. Working out which epigenetic change due to exercise is important and
will take time. This article releases the message that exercise is important. This
interests me because I do not exercise anymore and I have noticed the
difference it has made in my daily life and this article taught me how
important it si.
Link related to this article:
Some words I looked up:
Panacea- a solution or remedy for all difficulties
First, wash your hands
Giving birth was dangerous in the
1800s because many women died soon after doing so. Ignaz Semmelweis observed
that by washing his hands with bleach before touching his patients he could
reduce their mortality rate by 90%. This was before Louis Pasteur established
the germ theory of disease, and Semmelweis could not explain the correlation.
After Semmelweis published his findings many colleagues were offended at the
suggestion that they did not have clean hands. Semmelweis was discouraged and
slipped into depression and eventually entered a lunatic asylum. He died 14
days later, after being beaten by the guards. Since Semmelweis’s time, hygiene
in hospitals has come a long way. Every year, about 100,000 people die in
America from preventable infections in hospitals. Hospitals are still not as
clean as they can be. Dispense antiseptic hand wash is not used as much as it
should be. The usage is below 40% in most hospitals. The GMS encourages staff
to “now wash your hands”. Paul Alper invented the idea of adding a chip to the
dispenser to monitor usage. It is the psychology behind it that is clever, because
instead of being intrusive it relies on peer pressure. The chip in each
dispenser sends information to an off-site server where the data is recorded, analyzed,
and then made available either online or by e-mail to hospital staff. The GMS
records the number of times dispensers are used in different parts of the
hospital and compares this with an estimated reasonable usage customised to the
circumstances of each hospital. This system provides only overall information
for a group of people and no one is singled out. If the usage is recorded as
being low it is up to the hospital to take care of the problem.
This is important because id the system works it will save
many lives and money because it costs money to treat patients with infections
from dirty hands. This interests me because I thought that doctors now had
clean hands and that that was only a problem long ago, but it still continues
today.
Related Websites:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/28/hospitals-technology-hand-hygiene/2471443/
http://hospitalhygiene.info
Words I looked up:
wards- A separate room in a hospital usually for particular type of patient.
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